Improvement in locomotives and steam-carriages for common roads



No. 32,991. PATENTED AUG. 6,1861. J. K. FISHER. LOOOMOTIVE AND STEAM CARRIAGE FOR- COMMON ROADS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

1/2722 E/Y/YW {sa a/w) liven aim" PATENTED AUG. 6, 1861 J. K. FISHER. LOOOMOTIVE AND STEAM CARRIAGE FOR COMMON ROADS;

2 SHEETS-$112111 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Jenn KENRICK FISHER, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOCOMOTIVES AND S T EAM-CARRIAQES FOR common ROADS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 32,991, dated August 6, 186.1.

.(l'o (all whom, it may concern.-

I Be it known that I, J OHN KENRICK FISHER, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New Yorlghave invented a new and Improved Mode of Constructing and Arranging Certain Parts of Locomotives and Steam- Carriages for Common Roads; and I do hereby declarcthat the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings, and to the letters .of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of said drawings is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan, of a steam-carriage according to my improvements.

The nature of my invention consists in a .new combination of parts, (previously used,)

' whole power being transmitted by them to one pair of driving-wheels.

Instead of pedestals in the frame to hold the axle-boxes, I use radius-rods A, one end jointed to the axleand the other to the intermediate shaft (1. and parallel rods are partly spherical to allow, the motions incident to uneven roads.

To limit the lateral motion and to prevent concussion, I use a transverse radiusrod (which I call the lurch-rod) M, one end of which is jointed. to an axle-box and the other end to a spring N on the oppositeside, (which I call the lurch-spring,) and which allows about an inch swing toward either side.

I make the frame or body of plate and angle-iron, as in some locomotives, and use the locoinotive-boiler for heavy traction-engines and the upright tubular boiler for carriages, and I use any of the approvcdmcans of feed ing and regulating the'stcam.

I connect the front axle to the body by two springs F i placed one over the other as far apart as convenient in the center line of the The joints of the radius carriage, the rear half of these sprin gs being inside and the front half projecting o tside the carriage, and the front ends are jointed to a vertical shaft G, in which, between the spring ends, is a ring or slot through which the axle passes. The axle has trunnions which work in holes in the ring, as in Ilooks universal joint. I prefer to make the axle hollow and to put within it a revolving axle, upon which one wheel is fixed and the other works tightly, and I intend to use a transverse spring or rigid bar instead of the hollow axle when cheapness' is required.

I steer by a screw I, turned by a hand-crank.

The screw is hollow and turns upon a rod K, (which I call the screw-rod,) which takes hold of a stud on the top of the-vertical shaft. Upon the screw is a nut I, having trunnions, to which is jointed a forked rod J, (called the nut-r0d,) which takes hold of the pin of a crank-L on top of the upright shaft. As the screw turns, the nut moves forward or backward, moving the crank, and with it the shaft and axle. The screw at its hind end turns in a box with a joint partly spherical, the, box beingconnccted to the frame.

The utility of these parts and arrangements eoi'isists in the following effects:

' First. The combination of the radius and parallel rods with the intermediate shaft and driving-axle, with their cranks or equivalents, transmits the power to the driving-wheels without bending the springs and without straining the rods or crank-pins.

Second. lhe-lueh-rod and lurch-spring allow a limited end-play tothe axle, yet prevent concussion and absorb the momentum of the suspended mass when it is moving laterally in consequence of inequalities in the road.

I admit that the locomotives of Crampton and Sinclair, which have intermediate shafts, run withoutsuffering any fiexure of theirspriugs bythe oblique action of theirconnectingrods;

but as their axle-boxes are held in pedestals 'lIhird. The connection of the front axle by projecting springs allows the cent-er of gravity to be low, (thus contributing to steadiness) while the wheels are high, and it increases the distance between the axles, thus giving to the front Wheels a leverage Sufficient to slip the drivers whenturnings. Former steam carriages clutched their wheelsto the axle and unelutched one wheel when turning, and

slipped the front wheels laterally if they kept both driversclutclied; but Ifind by sufficient trial that with my arrangement I can turn securely with drivers fast upon the axle, and thus can avoid the expense and trouble of clutches.

Fourth. The screw holds the steering-axle in position, whereas the rack and pinionand other devices were sometimes jerked outof the steersmans hands.

I do not confine myself to the details of construction herein described and shown but. as

cheapness or conveniencemay require, I intend to put the radius-rods inside or outside the wheels and to place the cylinders outside andlevel, or inside and vertical or inclined, and'I intend to place the screw transversely on a level with the axle and to make it worka reverted pole, which has means of elongation, when I use a locomotivc-boiler, and Imtend to place the screw under the floor, lengthwise or hm-gitudinally, on a; level with the axle,.and make it work a rod that takes hold v of the axle about a foot from the center; and when I build small carriages, whose frames do not extend backward to afford convenient attachment to the lurch-spring, I intend to use projecting springs, like those in front, but so tapered and col'inected as to allow a lim* ited side movement. 'The springs in front are about an inch thick, which is suitable for ninety. inches length, to run at high speed. For low speed they maybca-n inch and ahalf thick, and shorter springs should be thinner but as the axle serves as an equalizing-lever their flexibility need not be much more than halfthat of the hind springs. These springs taper in width from about eight inches in the middle, or suflicient width for the load, toward a point a little, beyond the end joints, and the front ends are forked to take holdof boxes on the vertical steering-shaft. The ad-- vantage of this shape, as distinguished from a taper in thickness,- is thatit can be more,

easily executed and more perfectly tempered. qWhat I claim as my invention in the plan described is as follows:

1. I donot claim separately the radius-rod A, parallel rod B, intermediate shaft C, and

driving-axle D, with their cranlis E E or crank-pins in the wheels; but I claim the combination of the intermediate shaft Cand driving-axle D, with their cranks E E and crank-pins in the wheels, and the radiusu-od A and parallel rod 13, for the purpose ofcOnnecting the engines to the driving-wheels of a locomotive or steam-carriage. l

JOHN KENRICK FISHER.

Witnessesr THOMAS J. Sawrnn, FRANKLIN RANSOM. 

